【Aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan】No.271: The Casino Plan, one of the pillars of the government’s economic growth strategy, has disappeared

Within Japan, people can consult three public organizations if they are suffering from a gambling or drug addiction: public health centers, mental health centers, and local government offices. Figure 1 shows the number of consultations that these public organizations received between 2013 and 2018. The number of consultations for drug addiction decreased from 13,979 in 2014 to 11,555 in 2018, whereas the number of consultations for gambling addiction increased from 3,365 in 2013 (when the statistics for gambling addiction began to be collected) to 8,966 in 2018. It is also worth noting that these figures may not be entirely representative, as the gambling addicts who consult public organizations are just the tip of the iceberg. According to a national epidemiological survey conducted by the government in 2017, the number of gambling addicts is estimated to be about 700,000, which is 0.8% of the adult population.

Despite gambling addiction becoming a social issue, the Abe administration has enacted a law to make the casino industry one of the pillars of its economic growth strategy. In particular, Osaka and Yokohama were the primary candidates for casino construction. However, the presence of large numbers of foreign tourists is essential for the success of the casino business; this is a challenge in that foreign tourists have disappeared due to the COVID-19 crisis. Although COVID-19 itself will eventually be resolved, it is unclear whether enough foreign tourists will return to benefit the casino industry. Therefore, the overseas casino operators who had committed to expanding into Japan announced that they would cancel the plan.

Figure 1 Number of consultations for gambling and drug addiction